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- Description
About this Course
About the Course
In this course, Dr Nicholas Morton (Nottingham Trent University) explores the foundation of the Crusader states in the decades following the First Crusade. In the first module, we think about some of the impacts of the First Crusade – the theological impact of a wholly unexpected victory against a heathen enemy, the commercial impact of newly-opened markets in the New East, and so on. After that, we think about why it was that the Crusader states were not able to survive in the decade following the First Crusade, but actually to grow and prosper, despite being surrounded by hostile forces. In the third module, we turn to the Crusader states' attempts to push inland, focusing in particular on the Battle of the Field of Blood, before moving on in the fourth module to think about the reaction to the Crusader states from the points of view of the Franks' enemies: the Turks in Aleppo and Damascus, and the Fatimids in Egypt.
About the Lecturer
Dr Nicholas Morton is a specialist in the history of crusading and the Medieval Mediterranean between the tenth and thirteenth centuries. More recently he has begun to focus specifically upon the theme of inter-faith relations between Christianity and Islam in this region. He has published extensively on topics connected to this subject area, writing a range of monographs and scholarly articles. He is also an editor for the Ashgate series Rulers of the Latin East.
Currently Dr Morton is completing a monograph exploring the First Crusaders' attitudes and behaviour towards the various non-Christian peoples they encountered during their campaign. This will be a highly revisionist work addressing many key scholarly and public orthodoxies surrounding the nature of Christian/Islamic interaction during the crusade.
